Adjustable shoe pad assembly



E. lHAAS ADJUSTABLE SHOE PAD ASSEMBLY Dec. 9, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 4, 1956 M134 lm IIL INVENTOR. EDGAR HAAS BY Z l Z A ATTORNEYS Dec. 9, 1958 Filed May 4, 1956 ADJUSTABLE SHOE FAD ASSEMBLY l E. HAAS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVENTOR. EDGAR HAS F |G.|5 By fla ATTORNEYS ADJUSTABLE SHOE PAD ASSEMBLY Edgar Haas, New York, N. Y., assignor to Herman Schwabe, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a Acorporation of New York Appication May 4, 1956, Serial No. 582,684

14 Claims. (Cl. 12-38) This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes in a sole press, and more particularly to adjustable shoe pad assemblies for use in such presses.

Hydraulic or like presses are used for pressing and cementing a shoe sole to a lasted upper. The cementing may be permanent in the case of cemented shoes, or it may 'oe an intermediate step followed lby stitching around the periphery of the shoe sole. Such sole presses are also used on completed shoes for a so-called levelling operation.

ln all of these operations the bottom or sole of the shoe is supported on a shoe pad assembly. In simplest form this comprises an open-topped base or holder receiving a medium hard pad made, for example, of rubber, the pad being shaped to conform to the bottom of the shoe. An enormous number of different pads may be required to take care of shoes for men, women and children in their numerous sizes and shapes. In an effort to lessen 'the number of pads required it already has been suggested to make the holder adjustable, with a resulting difference in the support of the rubber pad, so that one pad may be given several shapes.

The primary object of the present invention is to generally improve shoe pad assemblies, and to greatly lessen the number of molded pads required, by providing the holder witha large number of adjustments, of more varied character, and all of which may be made conveniently .and rapidly.

To` accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other more specific objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the shoe pad assembly elements, and their relation one to another, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the following specification. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a front elevation of an hydraulic sole press;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the shoe pad assemblies used in the sole press of Fig. l;

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Fig. 3 is a similar perspective view with the pad itself removed;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the holder shown' in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a partially sectioned end View of the holder looking at the heel end; i

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the base; y i i Fig. 7` is a fragmentary transversesection` taken approximately in the plane of the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an end View of the shank support;

Fig. 9 `is a front elevation of the shank support;

Fig. l0 is a front elevation of the wedge for raising or lowering the4 shank support; i

Fig. ll-is an end elevation of said wedge;

Fig. 12 is a similar view, but-showing the modified wedge which supports the toeplate;

Fig.f i3 is an elevation of theheel plate;

Fig. l4 shows "one of the pivot rods with bushings and nuts for clamping the same in position; and

"F ig. 4l5is an'endyiewof a bushing.'

Referring tothe drawing, and more particularly to Fig. l, the sole press there shown comprises a base l2 having uprights 14 supporting a stationary head t6. There are two stations for independent operation on' two shoes. Hydraulic cylinders within the base 12 operate on plungers 18 and 20 to raise or lower shoe pad assemblies 22 and 24. The head 16 carries heel. and toe stops 26 and 28 over each of the shoe pad assemblies. A lasted shoe Sil is placed on a shoe pad, whereupon a suitable starting treadle 32 is depressed, thereby raising the shoe pad and shoe into engagement with the stops at 28. The cementing time may be controlled by an adjustable electric timer 34. It will be understood that the illustrated sole press is shown merely by way of exemplilication, and not in limitation of the invention, for the shoe pad assembly may be used in any sole press.

Referring now to Fig. 2 of the drawing, the shoe pad assembly comprises a pad 40, which may be protected by a surfacing layer 42. The pad 40 may be made of medium hard rubber having a durometer reading of 50-75 degrees. The protective layer 4Z may be made of leather or plastic. ln any case the pad is generally rectangular when viewed in plan, and is received in and supported by a holder preferably having peripheral flanges 44 and 46. The effective area of the holder may be varied by adding or taking away U-shaped inserts of the type shown at 4d and Sil, thus adapting the holderV for use with childrens and wo-mens shoes as well as mens shoes.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the holder comprises a base 52 carrying a toe plate 54, a shank support S6, and a heel plate The toe plate 54 is pivoted at one end, preferably by a pivot ro-d located adjacent the shank support 56 and supported by a bushing 6i). The angle of the toe plate relative to the base 52 may be varied by changing the height of the toe end of the toe plate, relative to tne rod, as by rotation of a crank 62. The height of the shank support 56 may be varied, it being raised and lowered by suitable adjusting means, in this case a crank 64. The heel plate 58 is pivotally supported at one end, in this case byl a rod adjacent theV shank support 56, and supported by a bushing 66. The other or heel end -of plate 58 may be raised or lowered by adjusting screw means, in this case upright support screws 68. it will be noted that the height of the bushings 6i) and 66 is adjustable in vertical bearing slots.

Considering the mechanism in greater detail, and referring rst to Fig. 6, the base 52 comprises a bottom 7i) having vertically slotted bearing supports: 72 at opposite sides. Each support '72 preferably has three vertical slots 74, '7 6 and 7 3. The bottom may be extended outside the bearing supports 72, and apertured as shown at Si?, to facilitate mounting the shoe pad in the sole press by suitable screws.

The ends of the base are provided with bearings 82 and 34 for the adjusting cranks 62 and 64 previously referred to. The base also has smoothly machined guides or ways S6 on which adjusting wedges are slidable, as is described later. The base further comprises upstanding bosses 8S for the vertical adjusting screws 68 previously referred to.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the toe plate 54 is preferably provided with a marginal flange 44. This extends along the end of the toe plate and along the sides for most of their length, the said anges preferably stopping short of the bearing supports 72. The walls @il terminate at their forward ends in bearings 92 (like walls 132 and bearings 134 in Fig. 13). The plate also has smoothly finished rails or ways 94 for cooperation with a slidable wedge 96. The latter is referred to as a wedge because it acts as a wedgeor camming member, and also because it is nearly identical structurally with another wedge described later, but in this case the member 96 3 carries vertically adjustable screws 98 which bear against and ride along the ways or rails 94 of the toe plate.

The member 96 is mo-ved longitudinally on the bottom guides or ways 86 by means of a feed screw 102. This is rotatably carried in bearing 82, and is held against longitudinal movement by a collar 184 just inside the bearing 82, and by the hub 186 of crank 62 located just outside the bearing 82. The feed screw 102 is threadedly received in the member 96, so that rotation of the screw moves the member. In practice member 96 preferably has a vertical hole of large diameter, in which a brass lead nut 97 is inserted, this nut being cylindrical in shape so that it adjusts itself to the direction of the lead screw. The thread is in part 97, rather than 96.

With the pivot rod 61 in substantially highest position shown in Fig. 4, and with the screws 98 in lowest position as there shown, the toe plate 54 is disposed horizontally, and in that special case the crank 62 is not effective to adjust the angle of the toe plate. However, in normal circumstances the pivot 61 is disposed lower (or the screws 98 higher), a typical location being that shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and it will be evident that in such case movement of member 96 longitudinally of the holder will change the angle of the toe plate. This is indicated in Fig. 4 by the broken line position with the pivot rod at 61 and the screws at 98', thus putting the toe plate in the angular position 54.

The shank support 56 is shown in Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawing. It is a rigid member having vertically disposed tongues or guides 11) at its ends. These guides are received in the middle slot 76 of the vertically slotted bearing supports 72 previously referred to, and it will be evident from inspection of Figs. 2 and 3 that the guides and slots hold the shank support and afford vertical adjustment of the same. I have found that this latter is 4 in Figs. and l1, but in the piece as initially cast the slope 124' is stepped upward at 126 to provide a small boss 128 in which the screw 98 is received. When the screw is elevated its adjustment may be locked, if desired, by a locknut 130. To make the slidable wedge 100, the screws 98 are omitted, and the step 126 is milled or otherwise cut away, thus prolonging the wedge slope 124',

.- to full length as shown at 124 in Fig. 11.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5 and 13 of the drawing, the heel plate 58 has a marginal wall or flange 46. This extends entirely across the heel end and part way alo-ng the side edges. It preferably terminates short of the upstanding bearing supports 72 of the base. The heel plate has walls 132 (Fig. 13) which at their forward ends are shaped to provide bearings 134 to receive the pivot rod 136 (Fig. 4). The latter is itself received in bushings in bearing slots 78, and is adjustable in height.

The height at the heel end of the heel plate, and incidentally the angle of the heel plate relative to the base, may be adjusted by screw means, in this case vertically adjustable screws 68 received in bosses 88, as will be seen in any of Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Because of the depth of the bosses 88 the screws 68 may be raised a substantial distance, and, of course, except when in lowermost position the adjustment may, if desired, be locked by means of locknuts disposed immediately above the bosses 88. The angle also may be changed by changing the height of rod 136.

of extraordinary importance in adapting a holder and j pad to many shoe shapes.

Reverting to Figs. 8 and 9, the shank support has sloping or wedge-shaped surfaces 112 formed at its bottom. These are at proper spacing for cooperation with mating sloping or wedge-shaped surfaces formed on a slidable member 10i) which is best shown in Figs. 10 and 11 of the drawing. The member 100 has a center part 114 which is bored, at 116 to receive a feed screw 118 (Fig. 4). It could be threaded, but preferably the thread is provided in a brass lead nut shown at 101 in Fig. 4. The part 115 has a vertical hole of large diameter to receive the nut. The latter is cylindrical, and affords self-adjustment about a vertical axis for alignment with the feed screw. Thus the hole 116 is a clearance hole, Asomewhat larger in diameter than the feed screw.

The feed screw 118 is turned by the crank 64 and is rotatably received in bearing 84. The feed screw is held against axial movement by a collar 12@ located inside bearing 84 and the hub 122 of crank 64 located outside the bearing 84. The feed screw is disposed horizontally and longitudinally of the shoe pad assembly, and it will be evident that rotation of crank 64 will cause movement of wedge 188 toward oraway from the toe plate. Reverting to Figs. 10 and l1, the sloping orwedge surfaces of member 108 are shown at 124. They are spaced apart a proper distance to hear against the surfaces 112 of the shank support, and they are preferably, though not necessarily, matingly sloped.

lt was previously mentioned that the slide member 96 is nearly the same', structurally, as the slide member 100, and the difference will be clear from comparison of Figs. 1l and 12. Fig. 12 is an end view of the slide member 96 looking at the end opposite that shown in Fig. 4, so that Figs. 11 and 12 are most readily compared. In practice the same pattern and casting are used for both members, and the parts 114', 115 and 116 correspond to the similarly numbered parts in Figs. 10 and 11. Also the sloping surface 124 corresponds to the surface 124 vIt has already been mentioned that the pivot rods 6l and 136 are vertically adjustable. This may be explained with reference to Figs. 14 and 15 of the drawing, showing how both pivot rods, in this case the rod 61, are stepped or reduced somewhat in diameter at the ends 140, these in turn being received in bushings 60 threaded at 142 to receive clamp nuts 144. The locking area is preferably increased by the use of relatively large d1- ameter washers 146, and these are preferably lock washers. The sides of the bushings are ilatted at 148 to prevent rotation. The flats are parallel, and their spacing corresponds to the width of the bearing slots receiving the same. lt will be evident that by tightening the nuts 144 the bushings may be locked at desired height.

As so far described it has been assumed that the toe and heel plates and the shank support are flat surfaces. Actually provision is made to bend or warp or so call wrap the sole of the shoe. This is done by the use of wrapping wedges which come in a variety of shapes, thicknesses and angles, and some of which are shown in Fig. 3,. They may be made of aluminum. Referring to Fig. 3,a toe wrapping wedge is shown at 150. A ball wrap wedge is shown at 152, and a similar wedge may be provided at the opposite side. Shank wrapping wedges are shown at 154. A heel wrapping wedge is shown at 156, and a similar one may be provided at the opposite side. To help hold these wedges in desired location the toe plate 54 is preferably provided with serrations or teeth, shown at 158 and 160. These mate with corresponding serrations 0r teeth formed in the bottom of toe wrapping wedge and ball wrapping wedges 152. The shank support 56 is provided with teeth or serrations 162 which mate with a corresponding formation at the bottom of the shank wrapping wedges 154. Similarly, the heel plate 58 may be provided with teeth or serrations 164 and 166 which mate with the bottom of the heel wrapping Wedge 156.

A sheet of plastic or leather or like material is laid over the surfaces 54, 56, 58 and the wrapping wedges, in order to present an averaged o-r smooth surface to the bottom of the pad 40 when the latter is placed in the holder. Moreover, as previously pointed out, the holder is preferably dimensioned for mens shoes, and may be made effectively smaller for ladies or childrens shoes by using inserts such as those shown at 48 and 50 in Fig. 2. To hold the pad down against accidental movement out of the holder, a plurality of inverted Lashaped said vertically slottedbearings, adjusting'mechanism `vto bodily change the height of the shank support, means pivotally supporting the end of the heel plate adjacent the shank support, and adjustable means supporting the heel end of the heel plate, each of said adjustment means being 'i adjustable independently of the adjustment ofthe other adjustment means.

11. An adjustable shoe pad holder comprising a base, a toe plate, a shank support, a heel plate, a stationary vertically slotted bearing support at each side of the base forming a part of the base, a horizontal pivot rod extending between said bearing supports for pivotally supporting the toe plate near the shank support, means for adjusting the height of said pivot'rod, adjusting mechanism to change the angle of the toeplate relative to the base by raising or lowering the toe end of the toe plate, said shank support having guides at its ends received in said slotted bearings, adjusting mechanism to bodily change the height of the shank support, a horizontal pivot rod pivotally supporting the end of the heel plate adjacent the shank support, said pivot rod extending between said slotted bearing supports, means for adjusting the height of said pivot rod, and adjustable means supporting the heel end of the heel plate, each of said adjustment means being adjustable independently of the adjustment of the other adjustment means.

l2. An adjustable shoe pad holder comprising a base, a toe plate, a shank support, a heel plate, a stationary vertically slotted bearing support at each side of the base forming a part of the base, a horizontal pivot rod for pivotally supporting the toe plate near the shank support, said pivot rod being supported between bushings received in said vertically slotted bearing supports, clamp nuts received on said bushings for locking the bushings in said bearing supports at any desired height', adjusting mechanism to change the angle of the toe plate relative to the base by raising or lowering the toe end of the toeplate, said shank support having guides at its ends received in :said vertically slotted bearings, adjusting mechanism to bodily change the height of the shank support, a horizontal pivot rod pivotally supporting the end of the heel plate adjacent the shank support, said pivot rod being received in bushings which are vertically adjustable in the vertically slotted bearing supports, means including clamp nuts for locking the bushings in said supports at a desired height, and adjustable means supporting the heel end of the heel plate, each of said adjustment. means being adjustable independently of the adjustment of the other adjustment means.

13. VAn adjustable shoe pad holder comprising a base, a toe plate, a shank support, a heel plate, a stationary vertically slotted bearing support at each side of the base forming a part of the base, a horizontal pivot rod for pivotally supporting the toe plate near the shank support, said pivot rod being supported between said vertically slotted bearing supports, means for adjusting the height of said pivot rods in said bearing supports, and a screw operated adjusting mechanism to change the angle of the toe plate relative to the base by raising or lowering the toe end of the toe plate, said mechanism comprising a wedge member slidabl@ OD the base beneath the 4toe'plate and supporting the toe plate, means for shifting t'he wedge member along the base, said shank support having guides at its ends received invsaid slotted bearings, mechanism to change the heightof the shank support, said mechanism comprising a wedge member slidable on the base beneath the shank support, means to shift the wedge on the base, said wedge cooperating with a follower means formed lat the bottom of the shank support and thereby bodily raising or lowering the shank support, a horizontal pivot rod .pivotally supporting the end of the heel plate adjacent the shank support, said pivot rod being supported between and vertically adjustable in the vertically slotted bearing supports, and adjustable means supporting the heel end of the heel plate, each of said adjustment means being adjustable independently of the adjustment of the other adjustment means.

14. An adjustable shoe pad holder comprising a base, a toe plate, a shank support, a heel plate, a stationary vertically slotted bearing support at each side of the base forming a part of the base, a horizontal pivot rod for pivotally supporting the toe plate near the shank support, said pivot rod being supported between bushings received in said vertically slotted bearing supports, clamp nuts received on said bushings for locking the bushings in said bearing supports at any desired height, a screw operated adjusting mechanism to change the angle of the toe plate relative to the base by raising or lowering the toe end of the toe plate, said mechanism comprising a wedge member slidable on the base beneath the toe plate toward and away from the heel plate, said wedge member i changethe height of the shank support, said mechanism comprising a wedge member slidable longitudinally of the base beneath the shank support, and a crank operated feed screw rotatably mounted on the base and engaging said wedge to feed the wedge longitudinally of the base, said wedge cooperating with a mating wedge formed at the bottom of the shank support and thereby bodily raising or lowering the shank support, a horizontal pivot rod pivotally supporting the end of the heel plate adjacent the shank support, said pivot rod being received in bushings which are vertically adjustable in the vertically slotted bearing supports, means including clamp nuts for locking the bushings in said supports at a desired height, and adjustable screw means supporting the heel end of the heel plate, each of said adjustment means being adjustable independently of the adjustment of the other adjustment IlleallS.

References Cited in the tile of this patent 

